Student tech needs wisdom from tech sages

[Richard Brekne]

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Tell them that it will probably not perform satisfactorilly in a
sanctuary... they seem to have decided upon that already... but mention
that it would be dandy for an youths activity room where one needs not
worry about having to expect too much for such a small but cozy
instrument.

That way they can find a way of gracefully being thankfull for the gift,
find an appropriate use for it, and get it off the stage at the same
time.

Cheers

RicB

Jeffrey Schlaybach wrote:

> All: Long story but I'll try to condense. Called to tune a "donated"
> piano at a local church a month ago. Piano is a Kimbell Consolette -
> serial number 469761. Piano is very much under pitch and required
> about a 125 cent pitch raise and then a fine tuning. Piano was being
> prepared for use in the sanctuary. Hammers are worn and rather hard,
> but no string broke, and bridge, case & soundboard all appear in good
> condition. Dampers are worn and compressed as well, but all damp and
> function. Action required no repairs as all keys worked OK. Left
> feeling pretty good about state the piano was in after I was done
> compared to its condition upon arrival 3 hours earlier. Called 2 days
> ago by the same church secretary who indicates the need me to return
> to 1 - fix some dead keys & 2 - Give an opinion if piano is junk or
> should have money spent to make it "better" as a sanctuary piano. I
> explain that all keys played when I had left or else I would not have
> been able to tune it. I'm also not sure I want to make a
> recommendation about a donated piano when the donors are members of
> this church (not my church BTW). But make an appointment to see
> piano. So today I went to see what might be going on. I meet a deacon,
> the pastor and the secretary in a meeting and explain that I was
> called to look at their piano and could they again explain what
> service I was to perform. The deacon begins to give me an ear full, in
> a nice way, about how this piano has no resonance, and spends the next
> 10 minutes lauding the sound of a 10 year old electric keyboard they
> had apparently used for years in the sanctuary. I ask about the dead
> keys - the pastor indicates that since it is his wife that plays in a
> Sunday, he knows of no dead keys. I go look at piano - a few of the
> strings have "settled" and I tweak these, and I also voiced some of
> the hammers to soften their tone a bit. While in the process of doing
> this the pastor's wife comes in and begins asking if I think this
> piano will ever work in a sanctuary that could hold over 200 people.
> She explains that she heard the piano at the former owners home in the
> basement which was completely empty, and she thought it sounded much
> "fuller" even though it was out of tune. As a student tech here's what
> I told them: 1 - The piano is too small for the settling they are
> trying to use it in - OK for a Sunday School classroom but not in a
> hall when the carpet, pews, people are all absorbing the littel sound
> it makes.2 - Since the back of the piano was within 2 inches of the
> stage, and the stage was nearly the same height as the piano, I
> suggested they at least move the piano away from the stage 8 inches,
> or better yet move it so the back faces the congregation.3 - I
> explained that a piano with short strings like this will never have
> the sustain and resonance that one would get from a large upright or
> grand.4 - Because they mentioned they tried to sit a mic behind it I
> explained that unless they purchased a bar mic which attaches to the
> soundboard, they are not likely to do more then amplified a tiny
> frequency range of the piano and will likely not serve their
> intention.5 - I suggest they move it to a classroom so the donors are
> not offended when they have another piano or keyboard to take its
> place6 - I recommend they get a 2nd opinion if they feel uncomfortable
> with my "Student" status and suggest another tech in the area who has
> been doing this for over 50 years.7 - That I tweaked a few strings
> into tune explaining that a pitch raise of the magnitude I did can
> sometimes require this. And that I tried to soften the tone a bit by
> voicing the hammers. I charged them my normal hourly rate (it took
> about 1 hour) and left with everyone sounding satisfied when I left.
> What else might I have done/said/tried? Do you agree with my
> recommendation and observations? Thanks oh wise ones! Jeff
> SchlaybachRobesonia, PA

--
Richard Brekne
RPT, N.P.T.F.
UiB, Bergen, Norway
mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no
http://home.broadpark.no/~rbrekne/ricmain.html
http://www.hf.uib.no/grieg/personer/cv_RB.html


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